Oral & Facial Surgery of Oklahoma

You may get cavities yet after brushing your teeth every day followed up by flossing and this indeed very frustrating. But there are some people who never get cavities. None likes to visit dentist frequently but upon having cavities, we are compelled to do so. Despite all the efforts when we get cavities, the dentist is the only solution after some tips to prevent it. If brushing and flossing are enough to prevent cavities, why do we get it?

Everyone is different so as their mouths. The answer is sugar and bacteria. The more sugar we have in our diet, the more we increase the chances of getting cavities. The sugar is the food of bacteria. The deposit of sugar in between teeth is the breeding ground for bacteria as they can get enough food there. The bacteria secrete a certain type of acid that breaks the bond of calcium and phosphate in teeth resulting in ugly cavities.

Therefore, brushing and flossing are not the only solution for preventing the cavities, it is heavily dependent on what we eat and drink. There are multiple sugar types that we must avoid. Artificial sweeteners available in different food items are the main culprit to grow bacteria including juice and soda. When eat this kind of food, the bacteria start consuming sucrose and producing more acid and wreaks havoc to the teeth enamel and causing more damage.

Cavities and Tooth Decay Causes

• Lack of Oral Hygiene – Not brushing teeth regularly twice a day allows plaque build up which destroys tooth enamel.
• Plaque Buildup – Plaque builds up inside our mouth when all the affecting facts are present together like bacteria, food particles, acid and saliva. This plaque gets adhered to the teeth and grows with time. This plaque starts sneaking to the tooth enamel and destroys it followed up by a hole creation that is known as cavity.
• Dry Mouth – Saliva and its good bacteria helps to wash plaque adhered to the tooth. If we have little saliva production in our mouth, plaque building may speed up.
• Food and Drink – Everything starts from food habit. Our oral hygiene heavily depends on our food habit. Normal and healthy diet is essential, it does not lead cavities unless we follow an unhealthy diet regularly. Every time we eat something, carbohydrates stick to the teeth unless we brush. Foods that cling to the teeth increase the risk of cavity. We must clean our mouth after drinking carbonated drinks, beverages, milk, soda, dried fruit, candy, caramelized candy, toffy, sugary cereals, or cookies and mints.

How to Reduce Risks

• Visit Dentist Regularly – Regular check up will ensure that which are the problematic areas and dentist will help to reduce it.
• Brushing and Cleaning – Brushing twice a day and cleaning the mouth is helpful for cavity prevention. A dentist always helps to learn techniques to take a good care of teeth.
• Brushing and Flossing Technique – Though we must try to reduce sugar consumption, but it is always not possible. Therefore, having the right brushing and flossing technique will help to stay prevented. Brushing takes at least two minutes otherwise it is difficult to clean the entire surface. Daily cleaning helps prevent cavities. In case, cavity has destroyed your tooth, you must call an oral surgeon in OKC to remove the tooth.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

The dentist has just told you that cutting the damaged tooth is the best solution. You are now concerned about the effects of the treatment. Luckily, today’s oral procedures require less pressure and no effect on your jawbone due to advanced techniques.

We also have an innovative socket protection program. Such procedure will help avoid bone decay, which is normal after extraction, or tooth loss. You should be prepared for socket conservation after a tooth extraction. Even if you choose a conventional bridge, this specialized technique makes your reconstruction easier. Call Oral & Facial Surgery today to learn more about socket survival after tooth mining.

Why Socket Conservation Is Performed?

The roots of your dentures don’t just keep your teeth, they also send essential signals to your jaw that cause new cells to grow. Regular usage strengthens the bone, preventing contraction of the jawbone. However, it can start to wear off the alveolar ridge, the bony ridge just below your gums. The fittings of a bridge can be affected. It can also weaken your dental implant eligibility, because you don’t have enough bone tissue to help reconstruction. Eventually, bone recession will alter the whole facial structure and make it look sunken. Your smile can even be significantly and commonly influenced by a single missing tooth. Therefore, a socket conservation is very essential.

Socket Preservation Treatment Method

A variety of methods for bone preservation and bone loss minimization after extraction can be applied. The tooth is usually removed, and the socket is filled up with substitution of bone. Then it is covered with a membrane i.e. resorbable and of bovine origin or any other material. It encourages the natural capability to repair a socket. This process treats the socket better and eliminates the loss and deterioration of the gums and bones around it. A newly formed socket gives a foundation to an implanted or a replaced tooth.

If tooth removal is recommended, make sure to ask if you need socket preservation This is especially important when plans are made for dental implants to replace the teeth.  It is also good if the same doctor performs the implantation.

After Treatment

After your treatment, the new tissue will be integrated to the surrounding bone after the socket preservation procedure. This process normally takes a few months and you can get your new restore afterwards. In most cases, a dental implant is recommended because it provides the highest reliability and longevity. You will most probably have enough bone tissue to qualify for the restorations thanks to socket preservation. If you want to go for socket preservation after tooth extraction, do not forget to contact Dr Wooten. Let him see the oral condition and perform what must be done.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

Wisdom teeth are a special case that require cutting into the gums and bone of the jaw, making it a severely painful process. Thankfully, the use of general anesthesia suppresses pain and patient anxiety by rendering the patient unconscious and preventing any memory of the removal of wisdom teeth. A driver will be needed after the wisdom teeth removal and it may take the better part of the day for the effects of the anesthesia to wear off.

Is It Necessary for Removal?

Though anesthesia is used for wisdom teeth removal, but it is not mandatory. Whether another process will be taken depends on the patient and the complication level of the tooth. Some patients could be unable to handle anesthesia and can take other sedation routes.

Local anesthesia is injected into the gum near the tooth. This is a pain blocker but can help the patient to stay awake.

Before the tooth removal surgery begins, this is injected along with oral medication and anti-anxiety pill. This medication drives drowsiness and make the patient feel sleepy during the removal.

Nitrous oxide or laughing gas helps the patients to stay relaxed and keeps them awake. The effects go away quickly, and you can drive home back. If oral medication is used along with the laughing gas, you need someone to get you back home.

Patients get intravenous sedation orally or through an injection. This works quite fast. Though you will be conscious during the removal and will respond the doctor, but you will not remember much afterwards and do not drive home back.

Assessment of the Patient

Before the process, the patient should undergo an evaluation that will determine their ability to cope up with the surgery and anesthesia. This process which starts at the dentist’s office has three essential steps –

• Medical history
• Physical examination
• Discussion with patients about medical history

The surgeon should evaluate the medical history, ask questions and fill the gaps. This is a time-consuming process but should be done meticulously. If the patient cannot answer all the questions, the doctor should find out those.

The doctor should have a detailed list of each patient and their medications. Details on the medications will help the doctors to know about the patient’s medical status. The doctor also should have all information on the patient’s food and drug allergies. This is indeed important to avoid such medications during anesthesia and while prescribing medications afterwards. At Oral and Facial surgery of Oklahoma, Dr. Wooten will help you to get the right treatment.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

It has no denial that dental health is an integral part of overall health. Moreover, if you are pregnant, taking care of your teeth is an important part of prenatal care.

During pregnancy, you could have increased risks of health issues and it may even affect your pregnancy. There are some links between gum problems and premature birth. Premature birth is delivery that happens before time i.e. 37 weeks of pregnancy. Premature babies may get health issues and dental problems than normal babies.

Dental Problems’ Signs in Pregnancy

If you get dental issues in your pregnancy, you must call a dentist or dental surgeon. There could be visible signs like rash or coughing in pregnancy. But there could be invisible signs that others cannot see like dizziness or sore throat.

Dental problem signs –

• Bad breath
• Loosen teeth
• Sore mouth
• Lumps in gums
• No space in teeth
• Receding gums or pus in the gumline (here gums meet teeth)
• Gums that bleed easily, red, swollen or tender gums
• Toothache

Common Oral Issues in Pregnancy

Women are at high risk of oral issues in their pregnancy like gingivitis and cavities. It is better to learn the signs and to prevent problems ahead. The conditions which can worsen in pregnancy –

Gingivitis

To an extent, most pregnant women during their course get gum disease like swollen gums, gum bleeding and pain. You must look for dental care ahead in pregnancy to look after gingivitis that can help prevent periodontal issues alongside premature delivery and low birth weight.

Tooth decay

There are multiple reasons that pregnant women get more cavities than others. First is the changing food habit in pregnancy. Second is the higher sugar and starch food consumption and cravings. Also, more morning sickness and vomiting in the course pregnancy can produce more acid in mouth and it leaves adverse effect on teeth. It damages teeth and makes them susceptible to cavities.

Tumors of Pregnancy

Some women even may develop tumors in pregnancy period as there are hormonal changes in the body. These are benign growths and occurs in the second trimester and the body’s natural healing process remove them with time. Though these tumors are not dangerous but can be removed if causes disruption while eating.

Preventing Dental Problems in Pregnancy

Have regular checkup for your teeth in and before pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning it.

Tell your doctor if you have any prescribed medicine or over-the-counter medicine, health supplements or herbal products. Prescribed medicine is only taken when suggested by a health care provider. Over-the-counter medicines are generally pain relievers or cough syrup that are bought without any prescription. Health supplements are such products that you do not get enough in your food like vitamin B or iron.

Your pregnancy could be in problems if you have persisting chronic or mild health conditions. Contact Dr Wooten in Oklahoma City if you are looking for a dental surgeon.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

It is important to provide a proper recovery time if you have undergone wisdom teeth removal. You need to make the most of your relaxation and take control over your diet which is very necessary. One of the common questions that people often ask is when they can start drinking their habitual and favorite beverages.

It is known that after wisdom teeth removal, a proper time is needed to recover and regaining the blood clot to help the tooth socket heal. Let us discuss the questions that patients often ask after a wisdom teeth removal.

How Long After Wisdom Teeth Removal Can a Patient Drink Soda?

It is recommended by the doctor that for at least 72 hours after the surgery, soda or any kind of beverages. This is because, the chemical component of the drink may have adverse effect on the teeth due to post-surgery issues.

Can Patient Drink Coffee Post-Surgery?

Some of the doctors say that coffee can be drank right after the surgery. But hot coffee should be avoided as it can cause inflammation to the gum. Cold brew or iced coffee are best to have right after the surgery. However, do not use straw as any kind of hit can cause the gum bleed.

Can Patient Drink Alcohol?

It is recommended not to drink alcohol up to 48 hours post-surgery. This is because alcohol can be very dangerous with the pain-relief medication that will be prescribed to you after operation. Avoiding any alcoholic drink like beer, wine should also be avoided.

What About Any Acidic Drink?

Beverages that have high citric acid should not be taken up to 10 days after the surgery. Recovering wisdom teeth removal can be very problematic if you indulge in any citric drink.

The best drink to have after surgery is cold water. This is best for the oral health after the removal of your wisdom teeth.

You can contact Dr Wooten from Oral & Facial Surgery to get your surgery done. We are happy to provide you with every requirement by ensuring proper diagnosis and treatment before the surgery.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

How would take care of your wisdom teeth? Why do you need to remove wisdom teeth? If you have immense swelling, pain, decayed and misaligned tooth, you must remove it on time. You should brush and floss regularly to take care of your teeth. Check this infographic to learn everything about wisdom teeth removal and after-care.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

If your tooth is decayed or has been seriously damaged in an accident, there could be lack of room for your tooth in your mouth or tooth structure may be incapable to support a dental restoration. Instead of saving a severely damaged tooth that may give you intense pain, it is better to go for a tooth extraction. Sometimes, you may need to remove multiple teeth but often a tooth only can cause huge damage. Go through this article to learn more on single tooth extraction.

Teeth Crowding

Sometimes dentists need to prepare the mouth for orthodontia. It is done to align the teeth, but it is not possible if tooth is very big for the mouth. If a tooth cannot erupt through the gum as there is no space, you may have to extract the tooth.

Infection

The tooth centre has nerves and blood vessels contained. If tooth decay reaches the pulp, it will also infect the area as bacteria will enter there causing an infection. Often a root canal therapy can fix this issue. Often, antibiotics could not help cure this infection, tooth extraction is the only left option.

Infection Risk

If you have a compromised immune system or you are going though chemotherapy or an organ transplant, there could be infection risks to a certain tooth, you may need to pull it out.

The most serious stage of gum disease can lead to gum recession, extreme swelling of the gums, and an unappealing appearance of your smile. In addition, your teeth may become loose. Sometimes the gum disease is so serious that a tooth simply cannot remain in place, requiring an extraction to be performed.

Advance Gum Disease prevention

Advanced periodontitis i.e. the most severe stage of gum disease, can cause gum swelling, gum recession or an unpleasant oral appearance. Additionally, the tooth may become loose. Sometimes the gum disease does not let the tooth to stay in place and makes tooth extraction an obvious choice.

Process for Tooth Extraction

You will only get local anaesthesia for single tooth extraction. Only certain patients with exception cases will get general anaesthesia. The oral surgeon removes a portion of gum tissue for tooth removal. If the tooth is hard to remove, the surgeon may need to break the tooth into several pieces that will make the process easier.

After a tooth extraction, you need to rest well. You must have soft foods and try to keep foods away from the gap. You must avoid straws as suctional force created by the straw can make the fibrous joint loose.

Contact Dr. Wooten at Oral and Facial Surgery of Oklahoma if you need single tooth extraction or multiple teeth removal in OKC or want to improve your oral health.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

Are you one of them who really works hard to keep the teeth clean yet no results? If you face regular dental problems like cavities and pain even after brushing and flossing regularly, you are at the right place. This blog will discuss why do you get cavities even after brushing and maintaining the necessary hygiene for your teeth along with the ways to combat the problems.

The recurrence of a tooth decaying is the least thing you can expect. Maintaining basic hygiene by following proper tips can be done. However, if your cavity is out of control and leading to tooth decay, it is always wise to consult an oral surgeon in OKC.

Why Cavities Occur Even After Taking Proper Care?

There can be several reasons for which cavity can occur. Here are some of the common reasons you should know.

• Plague Formation: It has been found that even after brushing or flossing your teeth regularly, plaque formation can take place on your gums. There is a harmful acid in a plaque that attacks the enamel with time. It can eventually create holes on your teeth and lead to decay.
• Mouth Dryness: If you have a dry mouth with less creation of saliva, plaque formation can increase. Proper flossing or brushing may not help in this case.
• Sugar Intake: If you are too willing to satisfy your sweet tooth, you have risks of cavities. Having candies or any other sweets for hours can be a significant reason for cavities and tooth decay.
• Gum Recession: The root of the teeth gets exposed when the gum recessed. The protective enamel may not work during the recession of gum.

Cavities can be a nightmare if not treated on time. If your cavity is out of control, it is better to contact an oral surgeon in OKC. However, there are also specific ways to control cavity.

How to Reduce the Risk of Cavity?

You can follow certain steps to reduce the cavity risk. If any adverse incident happens, then there is no other way but to visit a doctor. Otherwise, prevention is always better than cure.

• Do not Intake Too Much Sugar: As sugar intake is one of the major reasons for cavity, you need to reduce the consumption as much as you can. This will keep your teeth safe and protected.
• Brushing with a Good Toothpaste: Make sure that you use a good toothpaste for brushing. If you use a poor one, it cannot protect you from getting cavities.
• Mouthwash: Using a medical mouthwash for cleaning your mouth is always wise to avoid cavity or any teeth problems.

However, if you have cavity, that needs to be treated as soon as possible. Dr. Wooten can well treat cavity and tooth decay at Oral and Facial Surgery of Oklahoma.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

The wisdom teeth grow from top to bottom in the very back of your mouth. Such teeth come later in life, which is why they are frequently called teeth of wisdom, as you are wiser when they blow. Many dentists recommend removing wisdom teeth, but not everyone needs to remove those or go for surgery. However, if you wish to go for wisdom teeth removal, you need to ask certain questions. Here are a few questions you might have on the wisdom teeth and the answers.

Why Do You Need to Remove Your Wisdom Teeth?

Individuals often have no space for their wisdom teeth. The wisdom teeth will force other teeth into the back or get crowded into the mouth. If your wisdom teeth don’t have space in your mouth or if your wisdom teeth seem to come at an angle and damage your other teeth, the best thing to do is remove them. Many people in the world have a bigger mouth or more space. They may not choose to remove the teeth. It is essential to go for a diagnosis beforehand.

What Happens Even if You Haven’t Removed Your Teeth?

Many dentists recommend that you should remove the teeth. This is because many complications will arise if your wisdom teeth are not removed. In the best-case scenario, these teeth can be found to grow in an unusual direction. When these teeth come up through the gums, it can make you feel uncomfortable and also create pain. The worst situation is that you have an impacted wisdom tooth, it happens when the tooth enters at an angle and presses over other teeth. Impacted teeth can be extremely painful and cause the mouth and jaw to swell.

What Are Some Wisdom Teeth Symptoms?

Some of the signs are jaw pain, tenderness, swelling in the gums, flushing away if you have an abscess or infection, or you can see that your second molar is swollen through the gum. Nevertheless, some people have no noticeable or obvious signs of pain with wisdom teeth.

Why Should We Remove Wisdom Teeth?

It is recommended that you remove them to avoid damage to the surrounding teeth when they are causing teeth crowding. It is not necessary that you remove them if they develop in the correct position, safe and functional.

What Additional Problem Can Arise?

Additional dental problems, including damaged teeth around the denture, jaw damage (cyst growth), inflamed / infected tissue of the gum, cavities, alignment problems, and sinus problems, maybe caused if not grown properly.

What Are Damaged Wisdom Teeth?

If the second molar doesn’t make room for a tooth to grow or develop normally, the wisdom tooth can damage your overall structure of the teeth.

If you wish to go for wisdom teeth removal, contact Dr. Wooten from Oral & Facial Surgery.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.

Dental implants are basically man-made artificial dental roots, which can be used to replace damaged or missing teeth and support fixed or removable protheses. They usually made from medical titanium, but new materials like zirconia are also becoming more common.

None of the available methods of replacement of missing or severely damaged teeth can match the stability or strength, longevity, functionality or versatility as well as esthetic attraction of dental implants. Dental implants are the best thing to have a full set of normal, perfectly healthy teeth. You should explore at least the possibility of dental implant surgery if you miss one or more of your natural teeth.

Dental Implant Failure Causes

First of all, the success rate of dental implants is extremely high. About 98 percent of our cases are successfully completed. Failure of implants happens in less than 2% of our cases. Nationally, there is implant failure in only about five percent of all cases, so it is quite rare.

Common Failure Causes

Short Term Problems

Unsuccessful osseointegration

Osseointegration is the referred period where the titanium implant posts are fused to the jawbone as an essential part of a patient’s natural anatomy. If there is lack in jawbone density, this process may fail. Patients at Oral and Facial Surgery at Oklahoma must not worry about it as they will get with advanced technology here for a careful and successful implantation. If there is not enough jawbone density, we will do a bone grafting process to add bone mass.

Nerve Damage

Also, it is never because we have implant malfunction, because we tend to stop misplacing implants carefully. Certain inexperienced oral surgeons may put implants too close to nerves, but it may lead to pain or numbness and the implant needs to be removed.

Implant rejection by the body

In the vast majority of cases, titanium is not regarded as a foreign substance by the human body and thus embraces the dental implant as readily as the normal tooth root does. Implant rejection, however, is a remote possibility, if the body shows allergic reaction to titanium.

Long Term Problems

Long-term implant failure poses a whole host of problems. This can occur following the implant healing and integration into the bone and restoration of the implant. Peri-implantitis is the most common long-term failure (and also the most difficult to treat). Peri-implantitis is a persistent gum and finally the bone that protects the implant. It can be associated with the cycle of paradental disease affecting the teeth, because both result in the loss of the support structure (bone) around a fixed portion. Discomfort and pus or bleeding from the gums may be part of the symptoms.

Peri-implantitis treatments may include home-care upgrades, more regular washing, laser therapy, antibiotics and bone repair surgery. Although the overall success rate of dental implant care has been reported to be as low as 98%, the efficacy of peri-implantitis treatments is much lower, particularly when some of the associated effects such as the changed appearance of the recovery are considered.

Additional prosthetic problems such as broken screws, loosening of abutments and cracked restorations may include long-term failures. These can also be related to function loss and cosmetic improvements. Thankfully, most of these cases are simpler than peri-implantitis to fix!

You may fix an appointment with Dr. Wooten for dental implants in OKC to get it successful.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.